Ron Hollingshead
The work in this series, Treatment, is in reaction to the recent passing of my mother (Varena Hollingshead, August 20, 1947 - May 26, 2024.) The care she received in the hospital, assisted living facility, nursing home, and finally hospice, was extensive and done with kindness, however it couldn't stop her inevitable death. Her absence leaves an emptiness that can not be filled.
Treatment endeavors to express the feeling of loss after a beloved’s fight against disease. I replace objects of healing intention with clear plastic shapes to accentuate their futility. As family, we too become, unavoidably, ineffectual.
I,V.​
Size: 70” X 70” X 12”
Date: 10-2024
Materials: I.V. pole, acrylic
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Description: ​
The oversized I.V. bags, cut from clear acrylic, hang from the pole hard and empty, chest high a pair of useless lungs. The title I,V. the V is a nod to my mother's name, Varena. I,V.. The I alludes to the chance I, her son, have to one day look above me and see those empty bags.
O2​
Size: 12” X 12” X 30”
Date: 10/2024
Materials: Sound

Description:
Monitor is made of recordings I made on my mother’s last trip to the hospital. The leads stuck to her, and others, draw lines up to beeping machines that observe the patients. All the different sounds accumulate to create an uncanny soundtrack, “music”.
This eerie melody calls out to prove their witness—testimony to their vigilance. You are seen. You are not alone
Monitor
Date: 10-2024
Materials: Sound

Description:
Monitor is made of recordings I made on my mother’s last trip to the hospital. The leads stuck to her, and others, draw lines up to beeping machines that observe the patients. All the different sounds accumulate to create an uncanny soundtrack, “music”.
This eerie melody calls out to prove their witness—testimony to their vigilance. You are seen.
You are not alone.